jonathan89
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 1097
Loc: Ottawa Ontario , CANADA
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Hello everyone!!
I'm planing my futur expenses for this summer :P
I've been thinking lately and figured out that visuals will never satisfy my needs under 10k$ so I will get an Astrophoto setup... it will be IMO much more rewarding.
I currently own a skywatcher 10" dob , I will sell it pretty soon... the views are good but far from what I would like to see...
I would buy something like an SVP or CG-5 mount ( with goto ) and a used 300D DSLR from canon.
now , all that equip. costs A LOT OF $$$ so for the scope , what 'road' should I take ??
Options are :
Orion starblast 4.5" imaging reflector edition
114mm F/4 3lb 11oz 139.99$
Orion 80mm ED Apochromatic Refractor
80mm F/7.5 5lb 11oz 529.99$
Orion® ShortTube ™ 80-T Refractor
80mm F/5 3lb 15oz 199.95$
Orion® Express™ 80mm Rich-Field Refractor
80mm F/6 5lb 11oz 319,99$
The price is a huge factor but I could go in the used market and get for half price...
I think the real battle is between starblast and 80ED but the others might be good candidates...
the imaging reflector is a steal for only 140$... I could add a decent crayford focuser later... the faster focal ratio and bigger aperture should give brighter images with more details in less time right ?? would it work with a DSLR ???
The 80ED seems to be the choice of most people but is it really worth it ?? I mean... I saw BEAUTIFUL pictures with it but for 520$ , it's a bit high... I could get one for about 300$ in canada tough... would it be worth it over the cheap starblast ??
Also , the weight factor... I could buy an astroview mount instead of an SVP and save even more...
is it possible to add goto to a EQ-2 mount ?
Any other comments, opinions ??
Thanks ! 
-Jonathan
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SCOPES
Apogee 80ED F 6.25 refractor
MOUNTS
Advanced CG-5 GT
Camera & lenses
Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT
Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens
Canon 18-50 stock lens
Binos : Meade 10x50 "infinity"
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jonathan89
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 1097
Loc: Ottawa Ontario , CANADA
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for the mounts , I'll try to get intelliscope instead of Goto... I just want to find the object... What's the difference ? one drives you to the object , they other one you have to slew the scope yourself ??
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SCOPES
Apogee 80ED F 6.25 refractor
MOUNTS
Advanced CG-5 GT
Camera & lenses
Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT
Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens
Canon 18-50 stock lens
Binos : Meade 10x50 "infinity"
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jonathan89
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 1097
Loc: Ottawa Ontario , CANADA
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Anyone ?? please lol
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SCOPES
Apogee 80ED F 6.25 refractor
MOUNTS
Advanced CG-5 GT
Camera & lenses
Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT
Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens
Canon 18-50 stock lens
Binos : Meade 10x50 "infinity"
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oldsalt
Astro Philosopher
Reged: 02/12/05
Posts: 7958
Loc: Pa - between starparties
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The SVP or CG-5 should fit the bill for an 80mm APO. While goto is not essential to AP, in order to do any long exposure you are going to need to drift align. Also your mount will do more to make AP a joy or a curse then will your scope. Get the best mount you can afford for the scope, stability is king.
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jonathan89
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 1097
Loc: Ottawa Ontario , CANADA
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Ok I will consider that. I won't get GOTO I think... to find stuff , I'll mount the scope on my cheap ds-2000 mount , and for AP , I'll get a SVP/CG-5 mount.
now, What scope ??
would I get the same image quality with both scopes ?? ( I hope so :P for 140$ it's a steal! )
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SCOPES
Apogee 80ED F 6.25 refractor
MOUNTS
Advanced CG-5 GT
Camera & lenses
Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT
Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens
Canon 18-50 stock lens
Binos : Meade 10x50 "infinity"
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oldsalt
Astro Philosopher
Reged: 02/12/05
Posts: 7958
Loc: Pa - between starparties
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I'd go with the 80mm APO myself. It is a known quantity, and a lot easier to transport and maintain.
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jonathan89
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 1097
Loc: Ottawa Ontario , CANADA
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okk thx
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SCOPES
Apogee 80ED F 6.25 refractor
MOUNTS
Advanced CG-5 GT
Camera & lenses
Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT
Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens
Canon 18-50 stock lens
Binos : Meade 10x50 "infinity"
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 5370
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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The imaging version of the StarBlast is designed to cover a Type 1/3 chip, I think you'd get a lot of vignetting if you try anything much larger than that. I know from experience the original StarBlast doesn't quite cover a Type 1/3.
-John
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-John
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Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I & II), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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yg1968
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/26/04
Posts: 1745
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I am wondering if you shouldn't get the Canon 350D instead of the Canon 300D. Certain program such as Nebulosity don't support the Canon 300D but they support the Canon 350D.
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comets4tom
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/08/05
Posts: 575
Loc: Texas
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I have experience with many of the scopes you mention and some that are similar enough.
Starting with the Starblast, I don't have one yet but agree with John that vignetting would probably cause problems (it only has a 1.25 inch focuser)
I tried the ST80 with my Canon 300D when I first got my camera. The images were neat from a beginners standpoint but the chromatic abberration was too strong.
I then got a WO ZenithStar 80 very similar (if not identical) to the Orion Express. It gave much better images but there is still some chromatic abberration visible.
When WO made the APOgrade kit available for my ZenithStar I upgraded the lens and now it performs quite well. This kit also works on the Orion Express in case you can get a good deal on one.
It really is going to boil down to how much money you are wanting to spend.
Tom
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Vixen R200SS, ZenithStar 80 (APOGraded), Meade 2045D, Orion Explorer 90mm, Vixen Great Polaris DX with SkySensor 2000, Meade LX200GPS 8 Inch
Canon 300D, Stellacam EX, Orion Starshoot DSCIC, Atik 16IC
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jonathan89
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 1097
Loc: Ottawa Ontario , CANADA
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Okay , I see.
What does C.A cause in Astrophoto ?? You see false color around the galaxy/nebula? Got any example ??
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SCOPES
Apogee 80ED F 6.25 refractor
MOUNTS
Advanced CG-5 GT
Camera & lenses
Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT
Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens
Canon 18-50 stock lens
Binos : Meade 10x50 "infinity"
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Peds
sage
Reged: 03/07/07
Posts: 268
Loc: Brasilia, Brazil
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You will see a lot of false color in your image, mainly around your stars.
Here are a couple of examples I could find:
http://www.saratogaskies.com/image.pl?i=78
http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/us/spectro4/m31_2.jpg
P.
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Orion 80mm ED Apo
White William-Optics Zenithstar 66SD Apo
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comets4tom
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/08/05
Posts: 575
Loc: Texas
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I will post examples taken with each of my 3 80mm scopes.
The first image was taken with the Orion ST-80 and shows the most chromatic aberration.
It was the first image I took using my Canon 300D.
Tom
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Vixen R200SS, ZenithStar 80 (APOGraded), Meade 2045D, Orion Explorer 90mm, Vixen Great Polaris DX with SkySensor 2000, Meade LX200GPS 8 Inch
Canon 300D, Stellacam EX, Orion Starshoot DSCIC, Atik 16IC
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comets4tom
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/08/05
Posts: 575
Loc: Texas
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The next image was taken through my WO ZenithStar 80 achromat.
The CA is better controlled but still present around the brighter stars. Also the color is less intense pale blue instead of purple.
Tom
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Vixen R200SS, ZenithStar 80 (APOGraded), Meade 2045D, Orion Explorer 90mm, Vixen Great Polaris DX with SkySensor 2000, Meade LX200GPS 8 Inch
Canon 300D, Stellacam EX, Orion Starshoot DSCIC, Atik 16IC
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jonathan89
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 1097
Loc: Ottawa Ontario , CANADA
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Now that's more clear :P Okay , I guess that I could live with that... it's not so bad...
I'll think about it...
Thanks for all the help guys !!
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SCOPES
Apogee 80ED F 6.25 refractor
MOUNTS
Advanced CG-5 GT
Camera & lenses
Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT
Canon 50mm F 1.8 lens
Canon 18-50 stock lens
Binos : Meade 10x50 "infinity"
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comets4tom
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/08/05
Posts: 575
Loc: Texas
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The last image was taken using my "apograded" ZenithStar 80 which has and ED lens conataining an FPL-53 element.
The example is not as closely matched as the first 2 images as it really doesn't contain bright stars but the stars present do not show any of the false color around them.
Tom
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Vixen R200SS, ZenithStar 80 (APOGraded), Meade 2045D, Orion Explorer 90mm, Vixen Great Polaris DX with SkySensor 2000, Meade LX200GPS 8 Inch
Canon 300D, Stellacam EX, Orion Starshoot DSCIC, Atik 16IC
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